Recommendations For Leveling Out 5th Wheel Suspension When Towing  

Question:

Helpful Expert Reply:

Because a 5th wheel hitch must remain in front of the rear axle, most fixed hitches for long bed trucks will not be adjustable fore and aft. However, you will a limited amount of adjustability with the B&W Companion OEM 5th Wheel Hitch for Ram # BWRVK3600. When assembling the hitch, the A and B pivot arms can be swapped and will move the head back towards the rear of the bed, but again, this will not be very much.

With that being said, you may also want to check your height settings. If the hitch is set too high, it will cause the trailer to sit with more weight on the rear axle than the front. To negate this, you could lower the setting on the hitch, but bed rail clearance will come into play here. If the hitch is set to its highest due to this, you may also be able to lift the trailer a little by using the Dexter Trailer Springs Over-Under Conversion Kit # K71-385-00, if this is not already done.

This will move the axle from the top to the bottom of the leaf springs and will get you more height, which can also solve the issue of weight being distributed unevenly. However, If your trailer was already set up this way, it is a bit of a moot point.

The only other thing you could do is get a longer king pin installed. This will of course depend on how long your current one is, but as an example, the Trailair Flex Air 5th Wheel Pin Box # LC369535 will measure 20-3/4" from the center of the king pin to the first set of bolt holes. If this is significantly longer than what you have, it might be what you need. But, this is designed to be used with the Lippert 1621 style, so if you do not have this bolt style, this may not be the specific one to replace it with. You can easily verify the pin box number with the trailer manufacturer by calling them and having your VIN handy.

expert reply by: Lazer S

1